Writing and raising children in the leafy London suburbs

Amber had her first proper “play date” yesterday, picked up from school by another parent and taken back to their house without either me or the Lovely Melanie there.

Obviously there was another child there, Amber’s current best friend Izzy; they went back to her house and played, Amber tells me, “kitchens”.

We weren’t sure if it would all go smoothly or not. Millie also went to play at her friend Max’s house, but she’s done that plenty of times before. It was Amber’s first time and all a bit of a last-minute – so last minute, in fact, that we didn’t have time to cancel after-school club that day.

Millie bumped into Carmel, the after-school club lady, in the corridors and narrowly avoided a comedy masterclass of confusion while trying to explain that, yes, she (Millie) had originally been booked for after-school club that evening but this had been canceled and Amber, who had also been booked in and was still booked in, wasn’t going either.

Having attempted to follow Millie’s explanation of a dream this morning I can only imagine how that exchange didn’t end up in a hilarious misunderstanding (Millie’s dream was something about being chased by vampire bats – but cute ones – that, er, sort of, did something that she couldn’t quite remember… But it was so funny!)

Where was I?

Actually, I think that was it. Everything worked out fine – except for me, who got caught out on my way home by a last minute change of platform at London Bridge and ended up in Charlton. Bah!

Oh, and I wanted to include this link, about a confused grandfather who picked up someone else’s child from school, took them to a doctor’s appointment and then returned the child to school with medicine. The child’s parents only realised anything weird had happened when they were shown the medicine.

We all inhabit a house on the edge of London, and I make a living as a copywriter in the centre of town.

It's been a turbulent few years - tragedy struck early in 2011 when my younger brother died very suddenly and unexpectedly. We're still recovering from that.
My dad had a heart transplant in 2008. He's still alive and doing very well indeed.